Some thought it was a foot in the mouth moment when Pope Benedict XVI made the environment an issue in the church by declaring “God entrusted man with the responsibility of creation.” Benedict has been dubbed the "green pope" for his environmental concerns. The Vatican installed photovoltaic cells on the roof of its main auditorium. One year later it installed a solar cooling unit for its main cafeteria and joined a reforestation project aimed at offsetting its CO2 emissions.

Now, The Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the Vatican's scientific advisory panel,  issued a strong report calling for an urgent reduction in carbon emissions.

"We appeal to all nations to develop and implement, without delay, effective and fair policies to reduce the causes and impacts of climate change on communities and ecosystems, including mountain glaciers and their watersheds, aware that we all live in the same home," says the report. 

Proof that climate change and religion are by no means adversaries.
 

The working group recommends three measures to reduce the threat of climate change and its impacts:

1) “Reduce worldwide carbon dioxide emissions without delay, using all means possible to meet ambitious international global warming targets and ensure the long-term stability of the climate system. All nations must focus on a rapid transition to renewable energy sources and other strategies to reduce CO2 emissions. Nations should also avoid removal of carbon sinks by stopping deforestation, and should strengthen carbon sinks by reforestation of degraded lands. They also need to develop and deploy technologies that draw down excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. These actions must be accomplished within a few decades.

2)“Reduce the concentrations of warming air pollutants (dark soot, methane, lower atmosphere ozone, and hydrofluorocarbons) by as much as 50%, to slow down climate change during this century while preventing millions of premature deaths from respiratory disease and millions of tons of crop damages every year.

3) “Prepare to adapt to the climatic changes, both chronic and abrupt, that society will be unable to mitigate. In particular, we call for a global capacity building initiative to assess the natural and social impacts of climate change in mountain systems and related watersheds.”

View the full report HERE.

 

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